Educational Science

Jupiter's moon Europa lacks oxygen, making it less hospitable for sustaining life

Europa, Jupiter's ice-cloaked ocean moon, contains far less oxygen than previously thought, making it a poor candidate for sustaining alien life. Researchers came to this conclusion after analyzing data compiled from NASA's Juno mission. Calculations from a 2022 flyby of the Jovian moon revealed that Europa's frozen surface only produces...

Space photo of the week: Jupiter's seething volcano moon gets a close-up

What it is: Io, Jupiter's third-largest moon When it was taken: Oct. 15, 2023 Where it is: 262,000 miles (422,000 kilometers) from Jupiter Why it's so special: This photo, taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft, is the highest-resolution image taken of the most volcanic world in the solar system in 22...

A perplexing alien planet locked in a backwards orbit around its parent star may finally be explained by the discovery of an extra planet and star near the oddball planetary system, scientists say. The discovery is centered on the so-called backwards planet HAT-P-7b, which orbits a star 1,040 light-years from...

Exoplanet Catalog Reveals 7 Possibly Habitable Worlds

A new catalog aims to list all the known planets in the galaxy that could potentially be habitable to life. The count is at seven so far, with many more to come, researchers said. The online listing, called the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog, celebrated its first anniversary today (Dec. 5). When...

Alien Planet Haul: NASA Space Telescope Spots 41 New Exoplanets

Astronomers have discovered 41 new alien planets in one sweep by analyzing how each world gravitationally yanks on its neighbors. The newly confirmed exoplanets were spotted by NASA's prolific Kepler space telescope, which has detected more than 2,300 potential alien worlds since its March 2009 launch. The new finds, announced...

Eerie 'face' haunts Jupiter in creepy photo from NASA's Juno probe

A creepy face has appeared on Jupiter's surface just in time for Halloween, and NASA has the photo to prove it. On Sept. 7, the space agency's Juno spacecraft captured the spooky image during its 54th close flyby of Jupiter's northern regions, also known as Jet N7, according to a...

Jupiter officially has the most moons in the solar system, discovery of 12 new satellites confirms

Jupiter was already the king of the solar system, and new discoveries give the massive planet another way to reign supreme: It now has the most moons. Twelve new moons discovered orbiting Jupiter have been confirmed, bumping the count from 80 to 92, and knocking Saturn — which has 83...

Space photo of the week: An eerie look at Io, the most volcanic world in the solar system

What it is: Io, a moon of Jupiter and the solar system's most volcanic world When it was taken: Dec. 30, 2023 Why it's so special: NASA's Juno spacecraft has captured the closest views of Io since NASA's Galileo spacecraft imaged the volcanic world in 2001. Passing within just 930...

Scientists Unveiling Exoplanet Discovery Wednesday: How to Watch Live

Scientists with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) will unveil the latest discovery in the search for Earth-like planet outside our own solar system on Wednesday (Feb. 6), and you can watch the announcement live online. A press conference at the center will begin at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT)...

How to Keep Lonely Exoplanets Snug: Just Add Dark Matter

Dark matter is perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind when considering how life can be supported on another planet, but to Dan Hooper and Jason Steffen of the Fermilab Center for Particle Astrophysics, dark matter could be a contributing factor in allowing life to evolve and survive...